Vauxhall Crossland Review 2023

The Vauxhall Crossland is a family-friendly, spacious and comfortable small SUV. It also comes with good engine choices and generous standard kit. But it’s let down by a depressingly drab interior layout and a sloppy driving experience, which makes it difficult to recommend in a very competitive class - even though it does represent good value for money. Our Vauxhall Crossland review explains all.

Formerly badged the Vauxhall Crossland X, the Crossland lost the 'X' from its name when it was facelifted in 2021. At the same time, it was updated with a trendy blanked-off front grille and LED headlights were fitted across the range.

The Vauxhall Crossland is of the Peugeot-Citroen era of Vauxhalls (they're now all part of mega brand Stellantis), meaning it uses the impressive 1.2-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel engines found in a number of French alternatives. The entry-level 83PS 1.2 is best avoided, but the other engines are impressive, with plenty of punch, and acceptable noise levels.

It's easy to drive, although it's far from as sharp or direct as a SEAT Arona or Ford Puma. It's wallows about quite considerably – you'll notice it pitching on the brakes, while you better have secured your shopping if you turn sharply. Vauxhall improved the steering and the suspension with the 2021 Crossland update, but it's still not the most planted of small SUVs.

The waning popularity of MPVs means the Vauxhall Crossland effectively replaced the old Meriva so, despite its small crossover looks, there is a decent amount of space for families.

There’s plenty of rear legroom, loads of headroom and a sizeable boot. A sliding rear bench helps with practicality, although a Skoda Kamiq would be a better choice if you're after outright space.

It might be practical inside the cabin, but there’s no style or flair to the execution. The plastics feel scratchy and look cheap, which is a shame because there are some high-end features like a standard-fit seven- or eight-inch touchscreen system. This generously includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, so you can use lots of smartphone apps safely when on the go.

If you really don't care about the driving experience or need a plush cabin, the Vauxhall Crossland represents good value for money and includes a generous amount of standard equipment. But this is a very competitive class, and most buyers will be better looking elsewhere.

We'll start with the Vauxhall Crossland's party piece: a sliding rear bench which is standard on all but entry-level SE models. This means that, if you don't need much space for rear passengers, the Vauxhall Crossland can accommodate up to 520 litres of luggage. That's as big as some cars from the class above.

Ordinarily, the Crossland's boot can swallow up to 410 litres of stuff which is on a par with cars like the Skoda Kamiq and Renault Captur. There's a bit of a boot lip, as is the norm, but a variable height boot floor helps here.

With the rear bench left in its rear-most position, there's a reasonable amount of space in the back for adults. You'll find your knees sit a little high, which isn't great for comfort, but they won't be sticking into the front seats and there's a decent amount of headroom. Don't expect to squeeze three adults side-by-side without any complaints.

ISOFIX points are located in the back, which should help when fitting child seats, but the doors don't open particularly wide which makes strapping children in a bit of a nuisance.

Up front, space is pretty good. There's plenty of adjustment in the seats, so you'll soon get comfortable, and you sit fairly high up (a selling point of small SUVs like the Vauxhall Crossland).

While an emergency tyre repair kit is supplied as standard, the Crossland can accommodate a dealer-supplied spare wheel.

The Vauxhall Crossland isn't anything special in terms of interior quality but, in fairness, neither are cars like the Volkswagen T-Roc. It's acceptable – with a few soft-touch finishes here and there – but it won't take long to hunt down some brittle plastics.

Although the Crossland SE looks pretty plain, higher-spec models get colourful dash coverings and door inserts which brighten up the cabin. The Ultimate Nav gets Alcantara seat covers with leather-effect side bolsters, along with a smarter leather-covered steering wheel. It's better, but it's still a long way off being a premium offering. Still, what do you expect for the money?

There are two infotainment setups available in the Vauxhall Crossland. The first is a seven-inch display which does without navigation but does have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Most will find this to be more than adequate for their needs – it's easy to use, while the ability to mirror apps from your phone mean you can just use Google Maps instead of sat-nav.

If you do want nav, look for a Crossland with the eight-inch navigation system. This features European mapping as standard with over-the-air updates.

If we had to pick fault with the Crossland's media system, you can only operate it via touchscreen. We actually prefer systems that can also be controlled via a rotary controller (such as the Mazda CX-3's), but they're unusual. At least the Vauxhall Crossland does have a variety of buttons on the dash to do things like adjust the volume or change the temperature of the climate control – so you don't need to wade through the media system to perform simple tasks.

You can buy a new Vauxhall Crossland for less than £20,000, which makes it pretty good value for a crossover in this day and age. That said, no one pays full price for a Vauxhall. It's a bit like the DFS of car manufacturers – there's always a deal to be had.

A budget of just £17,000 will get you a choice of as-new pre-registered models (and not necessarily with entry-level engines or specifications, either). These will have been ordered new by Vauxhall dealers and will be on the forecourt ready to go, so you can skip the waiting list, too.

The absolute most you can spend on a new Vauxhall Crossland is around £27,500, which buys you a top-spec Ultimate Nav model with the 1.5-litre diesel engine and automatic gearbox. 

At the opposite end of the market, a budget of £8000 will get you a three-year-old SE in good condition with average miles on the clock.

As is usually the case, the diesel Crossland models will be the most efficient – but we wouldn't necessarily recommend them unless you cover a lot of motorway miles. Diesels just aren't suited to town driving or regular short journeys.

If a diesel would work for you, the 110PS version of the 1.5 with the manual gearbox officially returns up to 61.4mpg, while the 120PS auto is good for 57.7mpg.

The petrol models are far from inefficient, though. The 1.2 130 manual is the most efficient, returning up to 49.5mpg (dropping to 46.3mpg with the auto gearbox). The 1.2 110 returns up to 48.7mpg, while the 83PS model is rated at up to 47.9mpg. With its lack of power (and a sixth gear), we reckon this could actually be a fair bit thirstier during motorway driving.

As there's no hybrid model, VED car tax will be a flat rate of £150 a year after the first year. First year's VED is lumped into the on-the-road price when new and is based on emissions, with most Crossland models being taxed £215 for petrol models and £540 for diesels.

Despite its SUV-like appearance, the Vauxhall Crossland's footprint isn't much bigger than a Corsa. That means it's a really easy car to drive around town, helped by light steering and a tight turning circle. Visibility's generally pretty good, too, while all models but the SE have some kind of parking assistance (cameras or parking sensors).

Unfortunately, things aren't so great once you get out of the urban sprawl. The ride's quite bouncy and the steering's vague, which doesn't provide much assurance on faster roads. It rolls about like a proper old-fashioned SUV, and you'll notice it pitching under braking too.

On the motorway, the Vauxhall Crossland feels particularly unrefined and out of its element. The good news is that you're unlikely to break the speed limit – 70mph feels fast enough, thank you very much. It's just quite noisy while the steering requires a few too many inputs to keep the car in a straight line, particularly if there's a strong side wind.

Vauxhall tweaked the suspension and steering when the Crossland was updated in 2021, but it still feels pretty average to drive. Anyone looking for a crossover that they'll enjoy driving should look at a Ford Puma or SEAT Arona instead.

Looking for a second opinon? Why not read heycar's Vauxhall Crossland X review

As Vauxhall is part of the same group as Peugeot and Citroen, the Vauxhall Crossland uses the same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines as the Peugeot 2008 and Citroen C3 Aircross.

In entry-level form, the 1.2-litre petrol engine does without a turbo and produces a measly 83PS. In simple terms, that means it's very slow – 0-60mph acceleration takes 14 seconds flat. Unless you're on a really tight budget, we'd recommend looking for the 110PS or 130PS turbocharged versions of the same engine (the latter's available with an automatic gearbox, if that appeals). These pack a noticeable amount of extra punch, which means the Crossland doesn't feel quite so out of element on the open road.

We wouldn't bother with a diesel unless you cover mega miles, in which case the 1.5 is available with 110 or 120PS. Deciding between these will come down to which kind of gearbox you want – the lower-powered engine comes exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission; the higher-powered with a six-speed auto.

The manual gearbox isn't the most precise to use. To use a cliché, it feels like stirring rice pudding, in fact. Still, the clutch is light enough to avoid leg ache, and the pedals are positioned directly in front of you to avoid any awkward seating positions.

The automatic is better, save for an old-fashioned gear selector. It can be a bit slow to drop down a gear, too – but it's a trusty torque-converter, which means it's likely to be reliable in the long run.

The Vauxhall Crossland was handed a five-star safety rating when it was crash-tested by independent body Euro NCAP in 2017. That means it's fundamentally a very safe car for carrying your family.

Isofix mounting points are fitted in the rear, making it easy to secure child seats, while there's the usual myriad of airbags to cushion occupants in a crash.

Vauxhall does offer a driver assistance pack which includes a driver drowsiness system (which alerts you if it things you're nodding off), a forward collision alert (which'll let you know if you're about to crash into the car in front), and an automatic emergency braking system that can apply the brakes if it detects an impending collision.

This is an optional extra across the range, though – one that'll cost £500 but is well worth the expense, in our opinion.

Like most crossovers of this size, the Vauxhall Crossland isn't a particularly capable tow car. All models can tow a small trailer, though, while the 1.5-litre diesel automatic is rated to tow a braked trailer weighing up to 870kg.

The Vauxhall Crossland range starts with the SE which features a seven-inch touchscreen media system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), air conditioning, LED headlights and snazzy 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels. The rain-sensitive wipers will switch on automatically, as will the automatic headlights. Hill-start assist will give you a hand when setting off on an incline, while speed sign recognition will remind you of the speed limit. Lane departure warning alerts you if you stray from your lane on the motorway, too.

The SRi Nav model builds on the SE's specification with an eight-inch navigation system. It also gets dual-zone climate control, rear parking sensors and stylish ambient lighting. The ergonomic active front seats should provide a bit more support on long journeys, while the sliding rear seats aid versatility. It's a more stylish choice, too, with 17-inch alloy wheels, a contrast colour roof, silver roof rails, LED rear lights and tinted windows.

The Crossland Elite features heated front seats and steering wheel, while a driver's seat armrest helps you find a more comfortable seating position. There's some extra chrome around the windows, while a reversing camera is a desirable feature.

Topping the range is the Crossland Ultimate Nav. As well as the eight-inch sat-nav system, this features a wireless mobile phone charger and keyless entry/start. The interior trim is finished in Alcantara, and there's a fancy panoramic rear-view camera as standard.